Billy Long: I will work with President Trump to prevent spread of chemical weapons

(From Seventh District Congressman Billy Long)

Every day we hear about the global threat of chemical weapons and the devastating impact they have. These weapons of mass destruction are weaponized toxic substances such as chlorine bombs, sarin nerve gas, and mustard gas. Many chemical weapons can cause blistering and blindness, while nerve agents such as sarin and VX attack the nervous system and lead to death from asphyxia. Although the use of chemical weapons has been prohibited for decades, that hasn’t stopped countries like Syria or terrorist organizations, such as ISIS, from using them.

During World War I, the use of chemical weapons caused over one million fatalities on the battlefield. The global community saw the horrors these weapons inflicted and worked together to make sure it never happened again by prohibiting their use under the Geneva Protocol.

Decades later, the global community came together again, this time setting its sights on halting the creation of chemical weapons and eliminating a country’s ability to stockpile them. In 1997, the U.S. joined over 150 countries and ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) treaty, which bans the creation and stockpiling of chemical weapons. Since then, the U.S. has eliminated 27,000 tons of chemical weapons.

However, laws and treaties are only as effective as the entities that follow them. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), an inter-government organization, is responsible for monitoring and enforcing the CWC. If problems arise, the OPCW has the ability to bring issues before the UN Security Council and General Assembly for economic sanctions or trade embargoes.

In August of 2015, the OPCW confirmed that ISIS used mustard gas on civilians in Syria. Just this past March ISIS attacked civilians in Iraq with rockets laced with chemical agents. In the Iraqi city of West Mosul alone there were 15 confirmed chemical weapons attacks from April to mid-May. These types of chemical weapons are nearly impossible to defend against without specific protective gear, which is nearly non-existent in Iraq and Syria. According to U.S. intelligence officials, ISIS is working towards creating a chemical weapons cell of specialists to increase its supply of deadly nerve agents like sarin or VX.

Sadly, ISIS isn’t the only entity using chemical weapons. The Syrian government, though it denies it, has repeatedly used chemical weapons against its own people. In 2013, chemical attacks from the Syrian military killed nearly 1,500 civilians. Last April, sarin gas launched from a Syrian military base killed over 80 civilians and injured hundreds more, including many women and children.

Fortunately, our president is not complacent in the face of such evil. In April, President Trump launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Syrian military base responsible for launching the attack. His swift actions stated unequivocally that the use of chemical weapons will not be tolerated. I agree and will continue to work with the president to prevent the spread and use of these weapons.